Page 164 of Once in a Lifetime, Part 2

Steve exhaled, hand pressing to his forehead. “That idiot…”

Ody glanced toward the bathroom. “I’ll give you this. It worked. It’s hard to think about how much I deserve to suffer when I’ve got this to deal with.”

“Well… that’s something, I guess.”

“I’m hanging up.” He ended the call.

A second later, Mano stumbled out of the bathroom and dropped onto the couch.

Ody watched him. Neither of them spoke.

The breakup, the aftermath, Anna, everything collapsing at once… But one thing kept circling in Ody’s head. Anna had talked to Mano. And he kept it from him.

He could picture it. Anna standing there, talking about him like he didn’t matter. Now everything was out. No lies. No hiding. Just damage.

Hours passed. By afternoon, Mano stirred. Ody stepped out of the bathroom and stopped when he saw him awake.

Mano groaned, clutching his head. The pain was still there, but the room had stopped spinning. He blinked, trying to focus. The wall. The TV. The balcony door. All familiar but not his.

His breath caught. He shot upright. “What the hell—”

“You’re finally awake.”

He flinched and turned. “Ody…?” His mind scrambled. Mykonos, the breakup, the whiskey bottle. Someone called me…

“Steve called you,” Ody said. “He thought I might do something stupid.”

Mano swallowed. “I don’t know why I came,” he said, avoiding his eyes. “I shouldn’t have. I’ll go.” He moved to stand.

“Anna knows everything.”

Mano froze. His gaze snapped back to him. “What?”

“She came over. I told her everything. About us.”

Mano just stared at him.

“She knows about Serifos, the tattoo… Everything. She knows I’ve been a mess since you broke up with me. That I…” He paused. “That I’m in love with you.”

Mano didn’t move, his gaze dropping.

“Why didn’t you tell me you talked to her?” Ody asked.

“What?”

“Outside the gym.”

Mano’s stomach sank.

“If I’d known…” Ody shook his head. “If I’d known what that did to you…” He exhaled. “Now I get it. Why you ended it.” He walked over and sat next to him on the couch.

Mano looked down.

“I fucked everything up,” Ody went on. “With Anna. With Steve. With you. No matter how many times I say it… it won’t fix anything.” His gaze dropped. “I wish I could go back.”

Mano’s chest tightened.

“So I could’ve told her from the start.” Ody looked at him. “That I wanted to be with you.” He held his gaze, like he was waiting for something that didn’t come.